Chip Conrad

Age: 38 Born in: Ohio Lived in: Florida, Virginia, California, Oregon Family: Wife: Jill Conrad. Children: Zoie, 4; Tripp, 1 ½. Hobbies: Surfing, and repurposing wooden pallets into furniture Favorite Book: “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey. “It is one of those ones you should read it like every two to three years. I would say that has had the most effect on me more than any other I have read,” Chip said. Quote: “I hate coffee. I would much rather have Coors Light, or sweet tea. You gotta remember I am from Florida.”

Although he has lived in Salem just five years, comedian Chip Conrad took charge the moment he arrived, opening a live comedy theater, organizing a couch race and starting a nonprofit to help inspire and drive Salem business.

The early years

Born in Columbia, Ohio, Chip moved with his mother to Reddington Shores, Fla., when he was 6 years old. In 1994, he graduated from Seminole High School, then headed for post-secondary education at Liberty University in Virginia where he studied Youth Ministries.

After three years, he dropped out to start a coffee house in Largo, Fla.

“The church bought a bar and called me and said, ‘Hey, can you turn this into a coffeehouse.’ ”

In 1998, Chip opened Smiley’s Coffeehouse where he voluntarily ran the business, yes voluntarily. Chip was not paid for his work at Smiley’s.

“I was a maintenance guy at the church at the time. I built the coffeehouse from the ground up,” Chip said. “It worked though, I liked it. And that is when the improv thing started.”

“I had done sketch comedy my whole life,” Chip said, “and when we started running the coffeehouse and nobody was showing up, we knew we had to do.”

To generate business, Chip began adding events to the café’s calendar.

“We made an improv troupe that performed there Saturday night,” Chip said. “And that is when things tipped.”

“I went to the comedy school that Wayne Brady came out of, Sac Comedy Lab,” Chip said. “They turn out amazing improvisers. I was taking the classes, and then I would come back and teach my troupe what I had learned the day before. I was getting my money’s worth.”

“I was told early on that entertainment was where I would end up,” Chip said. “I wasn’t book smart, and back then, there was no ADD. You were dumb.”

“After about a year performing at the coffeehouse, we were getting asked to do shows across the city and across the state,” Chip said. “Someone wanted to book us in California. I thought I should split off and start my own company, leave coffeehouse behind.”

And that is just what Chip did.

(Page 2 of 5)

“1999 was our first tour up the East Coast. It was awesome,” Chip said. “We did it in January with a van that had no heat. And we hit a blizzard in Pennsylvania so we taped off the front cabin with Visqueen and huddled in the cabin around a kerosene heater. I found out later that was super unhealthy, sucking in all that carbon monoxide.”

It started with a two-week tour. After returning, the troupe was booked out for a whole month.

“That went on for eight years. We didn’t have a house for eight years,” Chip said. “We toured the US and Europe. We toured Europe by train the first time. I thought that was awesome, but in hindsight, we spent all our money because train tickets were super expensive.”

Chip’s troupe did an average of 250 shows a year for eight years.

Moving on

“I was getting pretty burned out,” Chip said. “My last show I feel off the stage and dislocated my hip. I didn’t go to the hospital. I had a gash in my arm as well. I got up finished the show and bought a plane ticket to San Diego and left everyone else to finish the tour.”

Why San Diego?

“I had seen every city in the U.S. and Europe, and that was the best I had been to,” Chip said. “I was like, ‘If I could go anywhere right now, I am not married, I have money in savings, I am platinum on airline miles, why not just go to San Diego and live there?’ I had friends there as well, so I could sleep on their couch.”

Chip lived in San Diego for a few years, “just blowing through my savings, surfing and having a really good time. Playing music … Doing anything but improv,” he said.

“After about my third or fourth year in San Diego I had a really solid group of friends,” Chip said. “One of them knew Jill. She was moving to San Diego from Fiji, doing some weird adventure trip. They said we would be perfect for each other and they were right.”

“We went on one date and then never stopped,” Chip said. “We saw each other every day.”

After dating for two weeks, they flew to Salem and Chip met Jill’s parents.

“I don’t think there are any rules to companionship,” Chip said. “I think the longest relationship before my wife was three months and then we dated for four years.”

(Page 3 of 5)

On Aug. 2, 2008, Chip and Jill were wed at Black Butte.

Welcome to Salem

In January 2009, Chip and Jill moved to Jill’s hometown, Salem.

“I was interim general manager at Northern Lights Theatre when I got the bug again for improv,” Chip said. “It finally came back. I was looking for place to just teach classes when I found the black box theatre in the Reed Opera House. I remember asking them how much it was for an hour. It was so cheap I rented it for the year and started Capitol City Theater.”

Capitol City Theater began with shows on Friday and Saturday nights.

“I knew nobody up here when I moved up here,” Chip said. “I did greeters a lot when working at Northern Lights. If it wasn’t for the Chamber of Commerce I wouldn’t have known anybody. It’s true.”

Shortly after Chip opened Capitol City Theater, Reverend Buerge moved to Salem. A comedian himself, he was drawn to the theater. Chip and Reverend quickly became friends, drawn together by their common interest in comedy.

“I saw a show, and took their open class,” said Reverend “I showed up at the right time. Not only could I perform, I could do everything else. More time I had the more time he needed and I have been at the theater four days a week ever since.

Reverend says that “Chip is a Velociraptor; He’s learned to open some doors.” He jokes about a marriage between him and Chip where he sees Chip more than Chip’s wife does, and that they are beginning to look like one another because of how much time they were spending together.

“Any major headache or triumph, Chip and I have been together,” Reverend said. “With excitement or loss of new talent; Working until 3 a.m.; sleeping in the theater to host greeters at 7 a.m. Chip’s like a brother/father figure. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I didn’t look up to him.”

In 2011, Chip and Reverend went to Albania on a comedy tour for 17 days.

“To that point, Chip and I were friends,” Reverend said. “We enjoyed hanging out, but we were not the partners we are today. It was the start of us realizing we are both survivors and good at surviving. A lot of that ‘Hey, let’s go do this really hard thing’ and by the time it was done, I almost felt related to the guy.”

(Page 4 of 5)

“It’s been tough,” Reverend said, “There have been hard nights but that’s the test of an entrepreneur and Chip is adding to the night life of Salem.”

The birth of the couch races

“We ran into a situation when people stopped coming to the theatre in the summer,” Chip said.

After some brainstorming, Chip and Reverend had the idea of an adult soap box derby, but they needed a way to sell it.

Reverend recalls Chip asking, “Why not race couches down a hill?”

Chip had never seen a couch race before, but did some research before taking the plunge and discovered the Davenport (couch) Race during the Homer Davenport Community Festival. But since it had been cancelled for the year 2010, Chip felt confident to go ahead and the Capitol City Couch Races was born. Later, the Davenport Races became un-cancelled, but that didn’t stop Chip and Reverend from charging forward.

The development of the couch race added to their bond Reverend said. They even got couch tattoos in the second year because “We lost a bet.”

“It shows he is willing to do stuff,” Reverend said. “He’s a great guy.”

“We did the couch race on a whim. We thought maybe 400 people would show up and there were 400 there by 10 a.m.” Chip said.

The first couch race brought about 1000 people out to enjoy the sun and experience a new event that would become an annual tradition for the city of Salem.

“I want to turn it into a whole weekend festival dedicated to war on being sedentary,” Chip said. “We are waging war on the couch. Get off your couch. A whole weekend around the idea of getting out and stopping being lazy.”

Chip has the ideas. Is he concerned with people stealing them? Not at all.

“As long as they execute, I am fine with it,” Chip said.

This year will be the fourth anniversary of the Capitol City Couch Race, which will take place on Saturday, August 2.

CEEDing the next wave of entrepreneurs

As a constant idea guy, Chip is thinking non-stop.

He was integral in organizing the Salem Sharks, a live investment event akin to the TV show “Shark Tank” that was held at the Grand Theatre June 1, 2013.

(Page 5 of 5)

“We funded $150,000 worth of business in one night,” Chip said. “We will be doing it again in the fall.”

“We did Salem Sharks,” said Chip, “and while we were doing that, we realized that Salem would support an entrepreneurial movement.”

He and a small group of friends recently started a nonprofit organization called CEED: The Center for Entrepreneurial Education and Development in September 2013.

“I can only start so many companies in this town,” Chip said, “so I started an organization that helps people start companies in this town and we are launching with a program called Lemonade Day.”

“Lemonade Day is a program that helps kids to develop skills,” Chip said. “The curriculum culminates on May 4th when hundreds of kids will host lemonade stands.”

“I have never been more excited about doing something in Salem than this,” Chip said. “There is no other Lemonade Day in the Northwest. The closest ones to us are Alaska, Denver, and Bay Area.”

“Lemonade Day is going to be a big deal,” colleague and downtown business owner Leslie Venti said.

“Chip is one of those folks really investing himself into making Salem an interesting place,” Venti said.

“He is a peer and an inspiration. With the couch races, the theater,” Venti said, “It’s unbelievable that people can be that creative, charming, funny, and natural. He doesn’t just talk, he backs it up.”

You will automatically receive the StatesmanJournal.com Top 5 daily email newsletter. If you don't want to receive this newsletter, you can change your newsletter selections in your account preferences.